Connect with Us

The race for Washington state governor remains in a dead heat while the majority of voters are leaning towards approving Referendum 74 (same sex marriage) and Initiative 502 (legalizing marijuana), according to the latest KCTS 9 Washington poll released Thursday.

With less than a week to go until the Nov. 6 election, incumbent U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell maintains a strong lead over her opponent Michael Baumgartner, and President Obama’s lead over Mitt Romney in Washington state has more than doubled since the station's first poll, according to a KCTS media release.

President Obama holds a solid 20 point lead over the Republican challenger among both registered voters and likely voters. Obama also leads Romney by 25 points among women, and dominates among young voters ages 18 to 29, holding a 71 percent to 22 percent lead.

In the race for governor, Democrat Jay Inslee has widened his lead over Republican Rob McKenna slightly, but the race is still a practical dead heat. Among likely voters, Inslee leads McKenna 48.7 percent to 45.6 percent, but the two-point separation is well within the margin of error that could swing 3 percent either way.

McKenna leads among male voters, while Inslee holds a slight edge among women. McKenna’s strongest leads over Inslee are among Tea Party and Independent voters.

In the race for Attorney General, Democrat Bob Ferguson holds about a 10-point lead over Republican Reagan Dunn among likely voters.

Initiative 1185, the measure requiring a two-thirds vote to increase taxes, continues to hold strong support, winning right now by 52 percent to 36 percent.

Initiatives on Charter Schools, and Legalizing Marijuana are both showing strong approval by nearly 20 points, and the yes vote among likely voters has nearly doubled for both initiatives since the first poll. The initiative on Same Sex Marriage is also poised to pass, 58 percent to 37 percent among likely voters.

The KCTS 9 Washington Poll is a comprehensive, scientific poll covering the major races and issues on the November ballot. Polling for the latest KCTS 9 Washington Poll was conducted between October 18-31. The poll sampled 722 registered voters and 632 likely voters, yielding a plus or minus of 3.6 percent and plus or minus 3.9 percent margin of error respectively.

We encourage an open exchange of ideas on this story's topic, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. Personal attacks, inappropriate language, and off-topic comments may be removed, and comment privileges revoked, per our Terms of Use. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.